Airport Hotels Paris - CDG

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Charles de Gaulle International Airport (Roissy)

ICAO: LFPG, IATA: CDG. The major hub airport to the north-east of the city. It's notoriously confusing, so allow plenty of time for transfers. There are three terminals: Terminal 1, Terminal 2 (which is huge and subdivided into 2A through 2G), and Terminal 3 (formerly T9). The newest exception is terminal 2G which is a separate building and is only reachable via navette/bus in 10-15 min (bus leaves every 20 min) so allow extra time. The free CDGVAL shuttle train connects the terminals together. Everything at this airport is very expensive, especially food. If you're traveling from Terminal 1 it's also worth noting that the food court is located at the CDGVAL floor, before the security check. There are hardly any benches around and don't even consider looking for an outlet to charge your cell phone or laptop. There are no public shower facilities in the airport. Air France lounges have such facilities, and the departure lounges have showers. Lounge access is included for Air France business and first class travelers. The members of the Air France and cooperating frequent flyer programs may gain access with sufficient status. There is a possibility that some lounges may grant access to travelers on their flights for a fee. If you consider paying for access to the lounge, inquire when checking in for your departure. If you must have a shower and your frequent flyer status (and charm) are insufficient to gain entry to a lounge, the airport hotels generally have rooms available (in Sep 2009, the Sheraton in Terminal 2 at the train station charged €155).

When you arrive at CDG, you should note what terminal you arrived at (2A, 2D, etc.), because when you come back to the airport to depart at the end of your trip, the RER subway train makes two stops at CDG to cover the three terminals, but there are few indications of which airlines are at which terminals. Have a close look at your air ticket to figure out which terminal you are departing from. Air France and associates leave from Terminal 2.

For getting to or from Paris, the RER commuter train, line B, has stations in T3 (from where you can take the free CDGVAL shuttle train to T1) and T2; trains to Paris (the stops are Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Luxembourg, Port-Royal, Denfert-Rochereau and Cité Universitaire) leave every 7-8 minutes (alternately 1 direct to Paris Gare du Nord and 1 stopping train). Adult tickets cost €8.50, and for children between 4-10 fare is €5.95 each and take around 35 minutes to Gare du Nord, 45 minutes to Denfert-Rochereau, making this the fastest and cheapest way to connect. Tickets can be purchased either through green (sometimes blue) automated ticket vending machines ("Billetterie Ile-de-France") or through the ticket office serviced by transport authority personnel. Engineering works near CDG terminal-1 and Aulnay-Sois-Bois stations are conducted between 2300hrs and 0100hrs everyday, so you must take a Coach(Bus) from Terminal 3 to the station where you can take RER B train to Paris. The fare is included in the train ticket you purchase. The automated ticket machines accept Euro coins of €2, €1 and 50, 20, 10, 5 cent denominations and give change. Note that Euro notes are not accepted. There is one separate automated machine which changes €20, €10 and €5 notes to €2 and €1 coins. However, due to the high demand, the machine frequently runs out of coins. There are currency exchange centres, but they explicitly state notes will not be changed for coins. Alternatively, smart-chip credit cards can be used on the ticket machines. But, some none-European credit cards are not accepted. Because of the above limitations, purchasing tickets from the ticket office may seem to be an attractive method. Although there are many counters, the queues can be very long. Although it is a nuisance, the fastest way to get some tickets is to take a lot of Euro coins with you.

Trains for Paris are leaving usually from platforms 11 and 12. Look for signs saying "RER B" or "All trains go to Paris". When using the ticket from and to the airport (as with tickets for the RER commuter trains in general) you have to use it to enter and to exit the train. Always keep the ticket handy as the SNCF officials sometimes check for tickets, and if you are without one you may be fined €40. This means that after you put the ticket into the entry gate and are cleared to pass, you must retrieve the ticket from the machine and keep it with you until you leave the train system including any connections.

Alternatively, the Roissybus service connects all terminals directly to Opéra Garnier in central Paris, but it's subject to traffic jams and rush hour, so it averages 60-90 min even on a good day. You could take bus number 350[2]and 351[3] to the city and it costs around 5.2 Euros making it the cheapest option to go to Paris. The tickets can be purchased inside the bus from the pilot and they need to be punched with a device lying next to the driver's seat.

Air France buses are offering two stops in Paris (Porte Maillot, Montparnasse) from CDG with a 50-min ride. To reach a specific address into the city, this shared shuttle service [5] costs €19 per person [6] private transfers cost €79 [7] Mercedes E transfer costs €129 and are available from CDG and ORY. There is also a TGV station in T2 for high-speed connections, mostly towards Lille and Brussels, but there are also some trains that head south to eg. Rennes and Nantes, bypassing Paris.